Prevalence of dry eye and Meibomian gland dysfunction in Central and South America: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

"Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participateNot applicable. Consent for publicationNot applicable. Competing interestsHC has no conflicts of interest to report PM has no conflicts of interest to report TL has no conflicts of interest to report MX has no conflicts of interest to report AGA has no conflicts of interest to report DG has the following disclosures: Claris Biotherapeutics (I), Oyster Point Pharma (I), Sylentis (I)SH has the following disclosures: Allergan/Abbvie (C), BioTissue, Inc (C), Claris Biotherapeutics (I), TearScience, Inc (C), Johnson & Johnson Vision (C), Novartis (C), Sun Pharmaceuticals (C), TearRestore (C/I), Sight Sciences (C), Kala Pharmaceuticals (C), Dompe USA (C/I), Horizon Therapeutics (C), Science Based Health (C), Ocular Therapeutix (C/I), Nusight Medical (C), Oyster Point Pharma (C/I), Thea Pharma (C)RQ has no conflicts of interest to report SL has no conflicts of interest to report IJS has no conflicts of interest to report TL has no conflicts of interest to report C = paid consultant I = Investigator. Competing interests HC has no conflicts of interest to report PM has no conflicts of interest to report TL has no conflicts of interest to report MX has no conflicts of interest to report AGA has no conflicts of interest to report DG has the following disclosures: Claris Biotherapeutics (I), Oyster Point Pharma (I), Sylentis (I)SH has the following disclosures: Allergan/Abbvie (C), BioTissue, Inc (C), Claris Biotherapeutics (I), TearScience, Inc (C), Johnson & Johnson Vision (C), Novartis (C), Sun Pharmaceuticals (C), TearRestore (C/I), Sight Sciences (C), Kala Pharmaceuticals (C), Dompe USA (C/I), Horizon Therapeutics (C), Science Based Health (C), Ocular Therapeutix (C/I), Nusight Medical (C), Oyster Point Pharma (C/I), Thea Pharma (C)RQ has no conflicts of interest to report SL has no conflicts of interest to report IJS has no conflicts of interest to report TL has no conflicts of interest to report C = paid consultant I = Investigator."

"Funding This work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health National Eye Institute (UG1EY020522). The funder had no role in the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of the study."

"We adapted the methods from a previously registered protocol (CRD42021256934) [] and followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines for reporting [, ]. Data extraction and synthesis: The review was based on a protocol registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021256934). Risk of bias was assessed in duplicate using a risk of bias tool designed for the purposes of descriptive epidemiological studies. Data were extracted by one investigator and verified by another for accuracy. Prevalence of dry eye and MGD were grouped based on study participant characteristics."